The disclosures herein relate in general to electronic circuitry, and in particular to controlling polarity in an active balancing system for a battery.
A modern battery pack often includes multiple battery cells connected in series. The output voltage generated by each individual battery cell in a battery pack typically varies from the output voltages of the other individual battery cells of the battery pack. The amount of such voltage variations is often caused by factors such as manufacturing variations, temperature changes, and other such internal or external factors. The voltage variations also exist between individual battery packs when multiple battery packs are connected in series to form a battery module. Voltage balancing systems are often useful for balancing such individual voltages. However, such balancing systems typically dissipate power, which reduces the amount of stored energy that remains for supplying electrical systems coupled to the multiple battery cells and/or battery packs.